RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

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JimmyJam1225
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RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by JimmyJam1225 »

Hi guys, I just bought a RIC 4003 '86 BT from reverb and am wondering if RIC ever offered a candy apple red finish or if the guy selling just called it the wrong name?
It doesn't matter to me really what it is, I'm just wondering if it's an original finish or if it's a refin.
if it's a refin then I may refin it again to a jetglo but if it's an original finish then doing a refin on it may be sacrilege and I may just leave it as is.
What do you think?

Aside from that, I love the BT option on these!

Link Below:

https://reverb.com/item/47771098-ricken ... ck-binding
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bassduke49
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by bassduke49 »

You have an original finish that was called Red (RED) that was usually accompanied by black binding, trim, and hardware. At that time, several official colors had black accent as the standard, including White, Silver, Midnight Blue, and even Mapleglo (for a while). If the finish is in good shape, I'd keep it that way! There are several shots of Red Ricks in the book.
Author: "The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom"
JimmyJam1225
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by JimmyJam1225 »

Thanks bassduke49!
It's Christmas time and I've been meaning to buy that book off yours for a while.
Off to amazon I go!
WillyWonka
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by WillyWonka »

take some pics of that Ric when you get it!

I have the book in my Wife's amazon cart.... ya know just in case....
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jps
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by jps »

WillyWonka wrote:I have the book in my Wife's amazon cart.... ya know just in case....
Whadya waitin' for?
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doctorwho
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by doctorwho »

The various "flavors" of red (Red, Burgundyglo, and Ruby) are represented in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=396089

Red and Ruby are opaque finishes, Burgundyglo is a transparent finish (one can see the wood grain through it). Ruby is a sparkly finish, sort of a "candy apple"; the Ruby 1982 4001 shown in the pics is a light Ruby and could be considered a "candy apple" type of color.
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. - Seneca
Korladis
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by Korladis »

The red finish is just called "red." If it's a metallic red, it's "ruby." If it's a translucent/transparent dark red it's "burgundy" or "burgundyglo." If it's a red sunburst, it's "fireglo."

"Candy apple" has never been part of any Rickenbacker finish name, so far as I know. Others may describe a couple of the above finishes that way due to being more familiar with Fenders and their nomenclature.
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CatHead
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by CatHead »

"Pillar Box Red" has also been a special edition colour here in the UK, you can still see a fair few of these for sale at the big vendors...

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/rickenbacke ... ctric-bass for example
1975 Rickenbacker 480 Jetglo
1980 Rickenbacker 4001 BurgundyGlo
1982 Rickenbacker 4001 Cream
2002 Rickenbacker 4003 BurgundyGlo COTY
2010 Rickenbacker 620 FireGlo
2015 Rickenbacker 4003S JetGlo
2017 Rickenbacker 4003 British Racing Green Ltd Ed
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bassduke49
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Re: RIC 4003 RED BT Finish Purchase

Post by bassduke49 »

Might be the same as "Fire Alarm Red" (FAR) that was made for a German distributor five or so years back. Don't forget "Trans Red" that was available only on the 4004Cii Cheyenne II.
Author: "The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom"
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